Thousands of anti-government Israeli protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night as the movement returned to the center stage after two years of weekly rallies at Hostage Square come to an end.
Anti-government protesters at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square mainly called for a state commission of inquiry in the failures of October 7, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
Groups like “Brothers in Arms”, “Looking the Occupation in the Eye” and Movement for Quality Governance set up tents at the square in Tel Aviv, holding signs protesting against PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, The Times of Israel reported.
“Brothers in Arms”, a reservist protest group established in 2023 in response to the Israeli government’s attempts to overhaul the judiciary, set up a large stand on the Habima Square’s, where its members railed against the occupation government’s bid to codify exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox men.
Nearby, activists from the left-wing group “Looking the Occupation in the Eye” held signs declaring: “We were silent about the occupation, now we have a dictatorship.” About 100 other left-wing protesters hoisted images of Palestinian children killed in Gaza, according to The Times of Israel.
Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the possible pardoning of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, demanding accountability and the formation of an official commission of inquiry into his failures since Oct. 7.
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Meanwhile, the Movement for Quality Governance set up a tent calling for a state commission of inquiry into Israel’s failures in the lead-up to the October 7 onslaught.
Attack by Right-Wing
On the other hand, Haaretz reported that the Israeli protesters were approached by several right-wing settlers as they marched, who were pushed back by the police after a brief confrontation broke out.
The right-wing settlers later attempted to confront protesters in Habima Square, the newspaper reported, and were again removed by occupation police after scuffling with them.
Netanyahu’s Pardon
The matters of Netanyahu’s criminal trial and the pardon he requested from Israeli President Isaac Herzog last week were also at the center of attention.
A mother of an Israeli captive who was killed by an Israeli airstrike while in Hamas captivity, told protesters that she blamed Netanyahu for his death.
“Ron was one of at least 42 hostages who reached Gaza alive and were killed there because of the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who preferred dead hostages over a deal that would have brought everyone back alive but could have ended his rule,” Maayan Sherman said, as quoted by The Times of Israel.
She said that “because of this loss,” she was demanding that Herzog reject Netanyahu’s request for a mid-trial pardon.
“Don’t you dare cancel Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial,” she warned. “Nobody in this country can be above the law… that’s a red line that Israel, as a democratic country, must not cross.”
She slammed Netanyahu’s “coalition of crooks and parasites” for seeking to pass a “corrupt draft-dodging bill [for the Haredim]… at the expense of worn-out reservists.”
Source: Israeli media (translated and edited by Al-Manar)